Blocks w/ Neal Brennan Robby Hoffman
12 snips
Feb 19, 2026 
Robby Hoffman, comedian and writer behind the Netflix special Wake Up, discusses her Orthodox upbringing, leaving religion, and growing up poor with nine siblings. She talks about feeling like an outsider, using humor as currency, bold creative risks, and her decision to have top surgery and how it reshaped her identity and daily life.
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Growing Up Poor In A Large Family
- Robby grew up very poor in a family of ten and attended a subsidized private Jewish school in Montreal.
- She recounts moving from an ultra-Orthodox Brooklyn life to secular Canada with vivid memories of scarcity and family dynamics.
Leaving An Abusive Religious Home
- Robby describes leaving an abusive, ultra-Orthodox household when her mother moved them to Canada.
- She remembers few early memories of her father and one vivid gas-station moment where he briefly left her behind.
Personality As Social Currency
- Robby noticed being the only poor kid among affluent classmates taught her to weaponize personality.
- She leveraged speaking ability and reading skill to earn a place and attention in elite settings.